Yogi Adityanath government announces hike in sugarcane purchase price by Rs 25 per quintal

Months ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday hiked in prices of sugarcane by Rs 25 per quintal. 

Addressing a gathering of farmers organized by the BJP’s Kisan Morcha in Lucknow, Adityanath said, "The government has decided to increase the MSP for sugarcane from Rs 325/quintal to Rs 350/quintal. The government has also decided to hike the value of the ‘anupyukt’ (less yielding) variety of sugarcane by Rs 25 per quintal."

Speaking of its benefits, the UP CM said, “This will provide 8% additional income to sugarcane farmers and transform the lives of 45 lakh farmers in the state." He additionally mentioned that 119 sugar mills might be operated, and they are going to be linked with ethanol.

Adityanath noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the sugar industry had come to a grinding halt in Brazil, which is the biggest sugar producer in the world. "More than half of the sugar mills in Maharashtra and some mills in Karnataka were also closed down but the UP government ran all 119 mills," he said. 

Comparing the initiatives with former governments, the CM said, "21 sugar mills were shut down during the BSP regime and 11 were closed during the rule of Samajwadi Party. But when the BJP came to power, we restarted the closed mill and brought a positive change in the lives of sugarcane farmers," said Adityanath. 

'BJP committed to doubling farmers' income': Pradhan

Farmers' welfare remains one of the main agendas of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the 2022 UP elections. After months of unrest against the Central Government’s three newly introduced farm laws, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the party is committed to double farmers’ income, be it by purchasing agricultural produce at MSP, promoting organic farming or spending Rs 1 lakh crores on-farm marketing infrastructure.

However, the state of Uttar Pradesh, which has recently seen many protests from the farmers might make it difficult for the BJP to win the trust of the farmer community.